Weekly corporate venturing deal net 11 – 15 April 2016
Each Friday the Global Corporate Venturing Deal Net rounds up the week’s smaller deals and tracks the emerging companies accessing corporate funds.
Fundraising
Vietnam-based telecoms company Viettel will look to invest internationally in startups operating in sectors such as e-commerce, e-healthcare and social networks.
Rakuten Ventures ploughs another $100m into corporate venturing
The corporate venturing unit doubled the size of its internationally-focused Global Investment Fund to $200m and now has a total of $285m under management.
Plug and Play welcomes corporate partners
Bank of the West and BNP Paribas will act as corporate partners for accelerator Plug and Play’s Financial Technology Innovation Platform.
Jaguar Land Rover gets InMotion
The car manufacturer has launched an incubator called InMotion that will focus on app development and services around on-demand travel.
Corporates help close $208m Forbion fund
Forbion Capital Partners has closed its third main fund at $208m, attracting commitments from Charles River Laboratories, Knight Therapeutics and unnamed insurance providers.
KPMG to house startups in Digital Village
The professional services firm’s Singapore-based subsidiary is aiming to unite the entire local startup ecosystem in its Digital Village incubator.
Illumina commits $100m to branded venture firm
The genomics technology company will act as majority limited partner for the independently managed Illumina Ventures, providing the cash over a 10-year period.
Tang to invest from Draper’s $190m fund
Andrew Tang, previously the head of ABB Technology Ventures for some five years, is an investment director at Draper Associates, which has raised $190m for its latest fund.
People
Ana Sirbu, a manager at Google Capital who specialised in fintech, has joined working capital provider BlueVine to oversee its financial management and growth strategy.
Okamoto takes other CEO role at Recruit
Akihiko Okamoto, head of human resources provider Recruit’s corporate venturing unit Recruit Strategic Partners since 2011, has been appointed corporate executive officer.
Exits
GV celebrates Carnival.io exit
Sailthru has bought mobile marketing technology company Carnival.io, which had raised $2.4m from backers including GV, for an undisclosed amount.
Corporates score big returns as Alibaba invests $1bn in Lazada
Rocket Internet and Tesco sold stakes sized at $137m and $129m respectively as Alibaba took a 67% stake in the Southeast Asia-focused e-commerce company.
KDDI acquires portfolio company AppBroadcast
AppBroadcast, the owner of several gaming services apps, raised an undisclosed amount in a KDDI-backed round two years ago.
Corporate-backed Domo begins IPO preparations
The business analytics technology provider, which has raised $590m from investors including Salesforce and WPP, is working with banks to ready itself for an offering.
Regeneron pledges $75m for IPO candidate Intellia
Intellia Therapeutics, which has raised $85m in under 18 months from backers including Novartis, has signed a collaboration agreement with Regeneron and filed for a $120m IPO.
Backplane goes down after $19m of funding
The Lady Gaga-affiliated social networking company has shut down and sold its assets after raising money from investors including GV, Advance, Coca-Cola and Cirque du Soleil.
IT
X.ai meets with SoftBank for $23m series B
SoftBank has made its third investment in X.ai, which is developing an electronic personal assistant that can schedule meetings, bringing its overall funding to almost $35m.
Samsung and Bosch took part in the series A round, which boosted the digital camera technology startup’s overall funding to $8m.
Twiggle series A search finds Naspers
Naspers led a $12.5m round for the e-commerce search engine technology developer that also included Yahoo Japan.
Amazon helps transmit $12.5m to Luma
Luma will begin shipping its Surround Wifi systems in June, having raised series A funding from investors including Amazon Alexa Fund.
Legend Holdings-backed startup AirMap has received series A funding to accelerate development of its drone airspace management tools.
Cloud storage specialist Datera reveals $40m of funding
Samsung is among the investors to have provided $40m for Datera, a cloud storage technology developer that emerged from stealth today.
Blis locates Unilever in $25m series B
Unilever Ventures was among the investors as UK-based location-based adtech company Blis raised capital that will support an expansion into the US.
RideCell mobilises BMW in $11.7m round
BMW’s corporate venturing unit led mobility software developer RideCell’s series A round, which will be used to expand its customer base.
Tongdun engineers $32m series B+
IDG Capital has participated in a funding round for technology company Tongdun, which uses big data to provide anti-theft and anti-fraud services.
Health
Adavium funds diagnostics acquisitions with $21m
Henery Crown and Company joined the Brazil-based medical device and diagnostics equipment supplier for a series C round that boosted its total funding to $47m.
Stat-Diagnostica gets $28.5m series C result
Boehringer Ingelheim returned to reinvest in the in-vitro diagnostics technology company, taking its overall funding to more than $50m as it gears up to release its product.
iCarbonX series A results in $154m
Less than six months after it was founded, China-based iCarbonX has completed a round featuring Tencent and Vcanbio that values it at $1bn.
Livongo extends funding with $44.5m
Chronic disorder management platform Livongo Health has attracted Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Merck and Wanxiang America Corporation for its series C round.
The round featured corporate-backed venture firm Lux Capital and will support completion of phase 3 trials for a treatment aimed at dry eye disease.
Reflexion guides $46m into series B
Pfizer, which previously backed Reflexion’s $11.6m series A round in 2014, has returned to increase its commitment in the medical device manufacturer.
Quartet Health pitches $40m series B
GV has led a $40m funding round for Quartet Health, the operator of a platform that helps users manage and understand their medical conditions.
Medtronic lights up Fire1 series B
Medical device startup Foundry Innovation & Research, also known as Fire1, has secured $7.5m in a round backed by existing investor Medtronic.
GE and Mayo Clinic draw up Vitruvian plan
Vitruvian Networks has been formed by GE Ventures and Mayo Cliic to develop a gene therapy software and manufacturing platform.
Media
90 Seconds finds the right time to raise $7.5m
The Opt-backed video production and collaboration platform has raised series A financing from backers including New Zealand-based Sky TV.
Consumer
NHNE buys $40m stake in Ticket Monster
NHN Entertainment has provided $40m for Ticket Monster, whose previous owners have included LivingSocial and Groupon, as part of a round that could reach $300m.
Tokopedia books $147m in new funding
Online marketplace Tokopedia has raised fresh capital from unnamed investors, following a $100m Softbank-led round in 2014.
Oyo Rooms upgrades with another $100m
SoftBank, which previously also led Oyo’s $100m series B, has returned alongside other existing investors for the hotel booking platform’s latest round.
MyGlamm attracts L’Occitane for $6m round
Beauty product maker L’Occitane has led a round for the on-demand beauty services marketplace that also included Times Group subsidiary Brand Capital.
Alibaba delivers $1.25bn to Ele.me
Alibaba itself invested $900m and its financial services affiliate Ant Financial $350m, with the companies also agreeing a strategic collaboration.
The social shopping platform has now raised in excess of $70m altogether, having completed a second successive $25m round featuring Shea Ventures.
Financial
The vehicle financing provider has followed a BAIC-backed series A round last year with $33.5m of series A+ funding from China Growth Capital and Matrix Partners.
Qualcomm likes the odds for Even investment
Salary management app developer Even has raised $9m in a Qualcomm Ventures-backed round that will support product development and hiring.
Transport
Didi Kuaidi closes in on $1.5bn
Alibaba and Tencent are reportedly both investing in a round expected to close this month which will value the ride hailing service at over $25bn.
Hertz takes front seat in $50m Luxe series B
Hertz has led a $50m series B round for the on-demand valet parking service, boosting its total funding to $75m.
UCar confirms $568m Alibaba-backed round
Alibaba invested $432m in the chauffeured car service, which has filed to list on China’s NEEQ board, but has transferred its shares to affiliate funds Yunfeng and Yunling.